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Quotes by Rana Ayyub

Rana Ayyub is a independent columnist, who previously worked as a journalist for Tehelka, from where she resigned, to protest against the organization’s handling of a sexual assault charge against its editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal. Rana’s investigation of the Gujarat fake encounters has been listed by Outlook magazine as one of the twenty greatest magazine stories of all time across the world. She is the author of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up.

“It is always the foot soldiers who are punished, while the masterminds get away.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“A sting operation by its very nature is controversial, for it goes against the sacrosanct—it involves the use of a fake identity and recording without permission, two elements that strike at the core of journalistic ethics. Should undercover journalism be made a part of daily journalistic exercise? No. It should be used in the rarest of rare cases, when you have exhausted every possible means.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“To be rejected by one publisher is one thing, to be rejected by a dozen publishers, including many high-profile newspaper and news channel editors was another. It was embarrassing; it almost made me doubt my own strengths as a journalist and lowered my self-esteem. I started doubting my own ability as a journalist, whether I was indeed mediocre or my work was a piece of gibberish as suggested by my editors who refused to publish it, calling it a coffee-table conversation. The entire process was so agonising that I had to see a shrink; anxiety and stress took a toll on my health. The decision to self-publish the book was a selfish one, I was unable to answer my own conscience. I cried myself out in front of my therapist. I had begun to cry very often. Just a week before the publication of the book, two publications bailed out of publishing excerpts of my book, which they had promised to. I called up my lawyer friend and begged her for an answer, ‘Tell me what wrong have I done?’”

– Rana Ayyub.

“How does one deal with trolls really? It is a syndicate of paid twitter handles whose job is to shield the government from all criticism. They try to do this through abuses and character assassinations. I feel sorry for them because they are paid to do this. I don’t think they are personally against me. So I let them be, most of the time they are so senseless that they humour me on a dull day.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“Somebody had to break this vicious cycle of self-censorship by our mainstream publications, who only wish to publish “safe books”. In a way, self-publishing my book is a slap in the face of the liberal publishers who talk about the power of literature at festivals but chicken out when asked to walk the talk.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“Self-publication is the only way to get good literature and journalism to the common man. You got to beat the censorship.”

“I guess I am the most abused person on Twitter, but honestly, it does not make any difference to me. The trolls are so irrational that they humour me.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“In the past in lieu of the threats, cops in Maharashtra have offered me a license for a revolver for my safety. But I refused to keep it. I am an optimist and a believer in the goodness of the human creed and that is my only shield and hope.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“People conveniently forget that I was critical of the Congress-led UPA government when it was in power and have done investigations against them. I am a journalist and my obligation is to the truth and nothing else.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“For me, as a journalist and an individual with a conscience, if I see any wrong, any kind of hypocrisy, it does not matter who that person is—even if it is the Prime Minister of the country—I have to raise my voice or opine about it, and that I believe is the beauty and strength of democracy.”

“For me, nationalism is defending the idea of the country — that includes everybody. For me loyalty to the country means loyalty to the government only when it deserves it. Patriotism for me is to speak against those in the government who support disturbing elements in the society.”

– Rana Ayyub.

“Unfortunately, the saying that patriotism has become the last refuge of the scoundrels in the country is proving true every day. Each time one has to promote a movie or a brand, they use patriotism.”

“While one may not be in a position to validate all that is narrated in this book, one cannot but admire the courage and passion displayed by the author in her attempt to unmask what she believes to be the truth.”

– Justice BN Srikrishna, who wrote the foreword to Rana Ayyub’s book Gujarat Files.